The answer quite simply is no. No 24 month contract, whatever you get with it, is worth being stuck into for two years. I myself have an iPhone 4S 16gb on Three’s One plan and I damn near had a heart attack when I discovered the cost of my contract (including the £99 cost of the phone) is £940 over the two year period. To get the same phone via PAYG with a sim 600 ‘All-you-can-eat data’ plan I’d be £260 better off in my pocket.

For my £35 a month I get All-you-can-eat data, 2,000 minutes, 5,000 Three-to-Three minutes and 5,000 texts. It all sounds okay but if like me you don’t really text or call people and use the internet side of things more you are paying for things you don’t actually want. Also throw in the fact no phone is bullet proof and will start showing signs of failure before the 24 month period is over.

A lot of providers now do sim only options which can either be a one month rolling plan or a twelve month contract. These can offer better value for money and save you being tied to the same phone for such a long period of time.

Below is a comparison of a 24 month and a 12 month contract including a PAYG Blackberry 9320 on the Three network:

24 month contract:

Blackberry Curve 9320 free

All-you-can-eat data (including BlackBerry Internet Service)

2,000 minutes

5,000 Three-to-Three minutes.

5,000 texts

Total cost after 24 months £600

SIM 600 – 12 month All-you-can-eat data.

Blackberry 9320 £139.99 (PAYG)

600 minutes

3000 texts

All-you-can-eat data (including blackberry internet services)

Prices from £15 a month

Total cost after 12 months including upfront cost of phone £320

So you get quite a saving over the 24 month period, as on the sim 600 deal you wont be paying for the handset after the initial purchase. And the savings work no matter what phone you choose to get.

So the next time your contract is about to end have a think on how much you are spending and how much you could be saving. There are many options available on all UK networks.